SEOUL, July 7 (Reuters) - Asiana Airlines, the
South Korean carrier whose Boeing 777 crashed while landing at
San Francisco airport on Saturday, had been trying to clean up a
tarnished safety record that included two other fatal crashes in
its 25-year history.

One of the pilots of flight 214, Lee Jeong-min, is a veteran
who has spent his career at Asiana. He was among four pilots on
the plane who rotated in two-person shifts during the 10
hour-plus flight, a senior Asiana official told Reuters.

"The pilot's name is Lee Jeong-min, and (he is) a veteran
pilot with long experience," said the official, who requested
anonymity. "Our investigation committee is looking into the
accident in San Francisco," he said.

He declined to give any other details about the flight crew,
pending an investigation into the crash.

South Korea's Transport Ministry said in a statement the
aircraft's fuselage appeared to have hit the ground, sending the
plane off the runway and causing massive damage to the body of
the jet.

Asiana, South Korea's junior carrier, is a member of the
Star Alliance with 91 international passenger routes, 28 cargo
and 14 domestic routes. It operates a fleet of 80 aircraft.

Two years ago, one of its 747 cargo jets bound for Shanghai
crashed into the sea off Korea's Jeju island after taking off
from Incheon airport. Two pilots on board were killed in the
crash, which was blamed on mechanical problems.

In 1993, an Asiana domestic flight from Seoul crashed in
driving wind and extremely poor visibility in a botched landing
attempt, killing 66 people and injuring 44.

An inquiry found pilot error was the cause of that crash
when the plane began a descent while it was still passing over a
mountain peak.

Asiana was founded in 1988 by the Kumho Asiana transport and
construction conglomerate at a time when South Korea wanted to
boost its international appeal as an emerging economic power.

It launched its first international route two years later
with flights to Tokyo and Hong Kong, then added flights to
Southeast Asia and Los Angeles the following year, gradually
expanding destinations to Europe and the Americas.

Asiana has been serving only six U.S. cities and four in
Europe, compared with the 21 routes it flies to Japan and more
than 30 to China.

With almost 30 mid- to long-range Airbus A350s on order, it
has been hoping to meet soaring long-range passenger demand. Six
A380 planes are also on order.

Asiana and Korean Air have been vying to
increase U.S. routes to cope with rising demand after South
Korea was included in the U.S. visa waiver programme in 2008.

The two South Korean carriers' fleets were previously flown
mainly by former air force pilots, but they have been gradually
adding more civilians to their cockpits. According to the
Transport Ministry, the ratio is now roughly equal.